Christianity Versus Humanism

(Reprinted from The Philosophy of Christian Curriculum [Ross House Books, 1981], 171-174)

The great issue of the years ahead is the developing battle between Christianity and humanism. It is a war unto death. Christianity is a world and life view and faith, and it can only exist as such. It is either the Word of God for every area or none.

Christianity was born into the same battle. It is only the dereliction of Christendom which has led to a return to the beginnings of this old battle of the centuries. On the day of Pentecost, St. Peter's great proclamation was this: "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Ac. 2:36). "Jesus is Lord!" This is the joyful and central proclamation of the early church. It is the declaration of St. Paul (Phil. 2:9-11; Rom 10:9; 1 Cor. 12:3), and it is the joyful declaration that in Christ the prophecy of Isaiah 45:23 is fulfilled. To declare Jesus is Lord means that He is the world ruler Who absolutely governs every sphere of life and thought. It is the obligation of every area to be Christian: church, state, school, family, vocations, the arts and sciences, and all things else must serve only Christ the Lord.

The True Meaning of "Church"
A problem in understanding the scope of our work is the common misuse of the word church. Our English word comes from kyriakos, a Greed adjective, as in kyriakon doma, or kyriake oika; our word "church" refers to an institution of worship, the ministry of the Word, or a building. The New Testament word translated church is ecclesia, which gives the sense of two Hebrew words, 'edhah (congregation) and qahl (assembly). It can refer to all the redeemed people, to their assembly in worship, their civil government, the family, the godly army, and more: it means the kingdom of God. Thus, where Scripture speaks of the church, it means Christ's realm in every area and sphere of life. All things must be brought under the dominion of Christ the Lord.

At present, humanism has brought all things, including most churches, under the sway of man the lord. The purpose of state schools, as laid down by Horace Mann, James G. Carter, and others, was twofold: first, to establish centralism, the priority of the state over every area of life, and second, to eliminate Biblical faith. The founders of statist education in the United States were Unitarians. They rightly believed that control over the child through the schools is the key to controlling society. Control over the schools will determine control over state and church finally.

Christianity and humanism are diametrically opposed religions; one is the worship of the sovereign and Triune God, the other is the worship of man. Let us briefly analyze some of the key points of difference between Christianity and humanism as they affect education. This is far from an exhaustive analysis. Our purpose is to provide a brief outline of some of the fundamental differences:

Truly Christian Education
The Christian school must, thus, teach every subject from a God-centered perspective, or else it will be teaching humanism. Mathematics, for example, has no validity in a universe of change: it rests on the presupposition of a sovereign and predestinating God.¹

The humanistic history book not only eliminates Biblical history and the great and central role of our Christian faith, but it sees history as chance rather than purpose. History for the humanist is at its best simply man's determination, whereas for the Christian it is God's determination.

In the sciences, we must again deny the "rule" of chance. Materialistic determinism is no better. The Newtonian view of causality has collapsed because its single and purely naturalistic view is inadequate. There is no single cause in nature. Moreover, the multiplicity of causes does not suffice to account for the fact of order, design, and meaning. Only the presupposition of the God of Scripture can properly undergird science.

In literature, we must ask, what is a classic? The idea of what constitutes a classic has varied from culture to culture. Thus the great Vietnamese classic, The Tale of Kieu, is a masterpiece of humanism. It encourages self-pity, the indictment of God, and a belief that man, who has the root of goodness in him, is the victim of God.² A Christian classic must reflect a Christian world and life view; it must see conflict as moral, not metaphysical, and it must affirm an ultimate and basic harmony, not a conflict, of interests.

In teaching language, we must remember that grammar and culture are interrelated. There is a theological premise to grammar. Relativistic cultures cannot develop a truly future tense, nor a proper sense of the future. Words, moreover, represent meanings; they are miniature propositional truths. Communication is possible where a common culture prevails. The more existential that culture becomes, the more difficult communication becomes, because words and meanings are weakened or destroyed.

Christian faith is thus a total concern. Christian schools are a necessity, or else we will have anti-Christian schools. For Christianity to by-pass education, to neglect Christian schools, is suicidal. Those who do so have denied Christ and His Lordship.

Notes

1. See Vern S. Poythress, "Creation and Mathematics; or What Does God Have To Do With Numbers?" in the Journal of Christian Reconstruction, vol. 1, no. 1, summer, 1974, 128-130; and Vern S. Poythress, "Mathematics," in Gary North, Ed., Foundations of Christian Scholarship (Vallecito, CA, 1976), 159-188.

2. Nguyen Du, Huynh Sanh Thong, translator, The Tale of Kieu by Nguyen Du (New York, 1973).